South Fork Ninnescah River at Pratt, KS
River level and flood forecast · Pratt County
Normal2.7 ftas of Mon 3 PM
The river is 6.3 ft below flood stage (9 ft).
Flow: 4 cubic feet per second (USGS).
The last 7 days and the forecast
NWS forecast issued Sun, Dec 31, 6 PM. Forecasts change as rain falls and as upstream water arrives.
Flood stages
| Major flood stage | 13 ft |
| Moderate flood stage | 11 ft |
| Flood stage | 9 ft |
| Action stage | 7 ft |
| Record crest (September 3, 2018) | 14.44 ft |
What floods at each level
From the National Weather Service, highest first.
- 13 ftHighway 281 in the south part of Pratt becomes flooded. Lemon Park becomes inundated with swiftly flowing flood waters. Pedestrian bridges and ball fields become inundated. Flood waters cover the Green Nature Trail and impact the Kansas Department of Wildlife headquarters building and facilities located on the southeast side of Pratt. Veterans Memorial Lake takes on the Ninnescah River flood waters to the point that camping areas and fishing piers are completely inundated.
- 11 ftFlood waters cover numerous county roads from the vicinity of Pratt to the Pratt and Kingman county line. Expect road closures.
- 9 ftExpect overflow of banks. Stream overflows narrowly on the left bank and more broadly on the right bank. Stream is approximately 260 ft wide at this stage.
Highest crests on record
- 14.44 ft — September 3, 2018
- 11.54 ft — July 4, 1987
- 11.12 ft — July 20, 1997
- 11.08 ft — May 8, 2019
- 10.94 ft — August 3, 1996
Recent crests: 9.51 ft (June 26, 2026) · 7.44 ft (September 23, 2025) · 9.45 ft (September 25, 2019) · 11.08 ft (May 8, 2019) · 10.06 ft (October 10, 2018)
Up and down the river, and nearby
Not an official source. River levels, forecasts, flood stages and impacts are from the National Weather Service (PTTK1); flow from the U.S. Geological Survey. Readings are provisional. In a flood, follow your local officials and the NWS at weather.gov.